Thomson Roundup - Abbreviated Version

The Sheep River Provincial Park, east of Turner Valley is a stunningly beautiful region of foothills that features rolling hills, mountains, deep gorges and stunning vistas. During summer the Province leases land for grazing to a group of ranchers. These are pictures from the fall round-up including photos of the park and our ride back to Calgary.

There were perhaps 30 or more ranchers bringing in the cattle, carrying on Alberta's rich ranching history. Due to the steep hills, rugged land and forest, quads do not work to round up the herd as has become popular in much of the ranching community. The round-up involves horses and riders as it did for decades in the past. Although I didn't get to take photographs of the round up, the cattle were brought back to a central location where over a few days were separated by ownership into several pens, then taken to their respective ranches for the winter.

I have divided the pictures into 3 galleries however because of the number of photos I have created this ABBREVIATED GALLERY. If you wish to see the more detailed galleries or see other pictures, the following links/descriptions will help to get you there: